Healthy Broccoli Soup
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Healthy Broccoli Soup is a delicious, cozy meal. Easy to make in the instant pot, crockpot, or on the stove – this broccoli cheddar soup is a must make! Gluten free and easily made dairy free, this creamy soup is seriously yummy!
Introducing the most delicious, healthy broccoli soup with a creamy texture! It quickly has become a favorite in our house, right next to Chicken Pot Pie Soup and Healthy Potato Soup.
This healthy broccoli soup is one of those recipes that feels indulgent, but is actually made with wholesome ingredients that are lower in fat and sodium (getting most of its creaminess from potatoes and veggies), yet still so delicious. It only has ½ cup of milk—no heavy cream needed, it’s packed with veggies (at least one serving per bowl!), and easily customizable.
You can make it on the stove, in the crockpot, or in the instant pot – but the instant pot is our favorite; it’s the quickest way (less than 20 mins start to finish!) and is pretty hands off. This soup is nearly impossible to mess up.. it doesn’t matter if you over cook it, because it all gets blended up!
This is a great alternative to Panera’s broccoli cheddar soup, and we know you will enjoy it!
Liz’s tips for healthy broccoli soup
- Grate your cheese! Pre-shredded cheese is coated in anti-caking agents that prevent it from melting well and can make your soup gritty. It’s best to buy a block of cheese and grate it fresh.
- Use an immersion blender for easy blending, or check out all our tips below for using a stand blender.
Ingredients
Substitutions
Oil: You can use coconut or avocado oil in place of olive oil
Veggies: Feel free to add in more carrots, celery or onion to this!
Broth: Use vegetable broth to make this vegetarian or bone broth if you’d like! I love using our Instant Pot Bone Broth or Crockpot Bone Broth in this because it’s so rich!
Dairy Free: I haven’t tested this recipe with dairy free cheese but I think it would work. You can sub in any non dairy milk. I tested almond milk in this recipe and found no difference in terms of taste/texture.
Cheese: Feel free to use whatever cheese you like. I prefer cheddar, gruyere, colby jack, fontina, or gouda, but other shredded cheese will work. Make sure to buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself for best results!
Milk: You can use pretty much any milk in this soup. I tested it with coconut cream, almond milk and whole milk. All were delicious. If you’re looking for a lower fat option, use lower fat milk or almond milk. If you want a richer soup, use heavy cream or coconut cream.
Potatoes: Do not use red skinned potatoes. These have less starch and will make your soup more watery. Use yukon gold or russet potatoes, as the starch is what helps with thickening. If you have sweet potatoes, try our Sweet Potato Soup.
Thickness: This soup is not the thick gravy like soup you’d get at Panera in the bread bowl, but it does get thicker as it cools/sets.
Sodium: If you’re looking to reduce sodium, omit the salt and use a salt-free broth. The nutrition facts reflect using a salt free broth.
Spices: Try this Curried Cauliflower and Broccoli Soup if you’re looking to amp up the flavor!
Keto: I have not tried subbing the potato for cauliflower, but I think it would work. You could also try our Cauliflower Soup.
Lower fat: Use almond milk or lower fat milk. You can use lower fat cheese but I think it affects the flavor/taste.
Paleo/Whole30: You can use almond milk and omit the cheese to make this paleo/Whole30 friendly.
How to make Broccoli Potato Cheese Soup in the instant pot
- In a large pot, heat olive oil. Sauté carrots, celery, onion, and garlic for 2 minutes until slightly softened and fragrant. Stir in the potatoes, salt, pepper, broccoli (including broccoli stems) and chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil and cook on high for 20-30 minutes, until broccoli + potatoes are fork tender.
- Once cooked, add milk and puree the soup using an immersion blender or spoon it into a regular blender. If you use a regular blender be very careful blending hot liquids and remember to vent the blender well.
- You can leave the soup as chunky as you like it or puree it entirely.
- Once blended stir in the cheese adding it about a quarter of a cup at a time while stirring to avoid it clumping together.
- Garnish with extra cheese, bacon and scallions and serve.
Tips for blending hot soup:
You can blend this soup with an immersion blender, regular blender, or even a food processor.
Make sure to be very careful when blending soup in a regular blender. If you are blending hot soup, it can lead the blender to steam up or build pressure which can result in the top popping off.
To avoid that, here are our tips for blending hot soup in a regular blender.
Allow the soup to cool for a few minutes if you can. It’s best not to take this right off the stove/instant pot/crockpot and put it in the blender. Give it a few minutes uncovered/off heat to release some steam.
Blend the soup in batches. It’s probably best to divide this in half and blend it 1/2 the batch at a time. By doing this you’re leaving room in the blender for the soup to move around.
Remove the center cover from the blender and cover with a towel instead. Most blender tops have a removable plastic piece in the center. Take this center piece out and put a clean dish towel over the opening while blending. (You don’t want soup on the ceiling!). Doing this allows the steam to vent out and prevents pressure from building up in the blender. Make sure to hold your hand over the dish towel to avoid it from moving/splattering.
FAQs
Broccoli Cheese soup will naturally separate as it cools. To prevent it just warm the soup and stir vigorously.
You can thicken broccoli cheese soup by adding in a little bit of flour or 1/2 teaspoon corn starch.
How to serve this soup
We like to top ours with scallions and extra cheese, but you can also top with bacon, homemade croutons.. the options are endless 🙂
Serve with a sandwich or an apple salad.
Storage options
Can you freeze broccoli soup? Yes you can! Place in freezer safe container. I love these containers for freezing leftovers! When you’re ready to eat – defrost in the refrigerator the night before, or heat in microwave from frozen or on the stove.
We have more tips on how to freeze soup!
Storing: This will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container
Freezing: You can freeze this recipe for up to 6 months. We like these containers for freezing !
Reheating: You can reheat this recipe in the microwave, toaster oven, oven or on the stove.
More Healthy Soup Recipes:
Looking for other soup recipes? Check out these 40+ Healthy Soup Recipes. Click here to grab our free healthy soup cookbook.
Healthy Broccoli Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup carrots diced
- 1/2 cup celery diced
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- 3 cups broccoli florets about ½ lb
- 2 cups yukon gold potatoes peeled and diced into 2 inch pieces (about ½ lb)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cups chicken broth low or no salt
- 1/2 cup milk dairy or nondairy will work
- 1.5 cups colby jack cheese grated (highly recommend grating yourself to avoid grittiness from stabilizers in pre grated cheese)
Optional:
- scallion, bacon, cheese for garnish
Instructions
Instant Pot Instructions
- Start your instant pot on the regular sauté function. Heat olive oil. Add in the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes. Add in the potatoes, salt, black pepper, broccoli and chicken broth.
- Turn the Instant Pot to High Pressure (Manual on older models) and set time for 3 minutes.
- When finished, quick release the steam. Add milk and puree the soup using an immersion blender or spoon it into a regular blender. If you use a regular blender be very careful blending hot liquids and remember to vent the blender well. You can leave the soup as chunky as you like it or puree it to a smooth consistency.
- Once blended stir in the cheese adding it about a quarter of a cup at a time while stirring to avoid it clumping together.
- Garnish with extra cheese, bacon and scallions and serve.
Crockpot Instructions
- In a saute pan, heat olive oil. Add in the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes until slightly softened and fragrant. (This is optional, but recommended)
- Add sautéd veggies to the crockpot. Stir in the potatoes, salt, black pepper, broccoli and chicken broth.
- Set the crockpot to low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours.
- Add milk and puree the soup using an immersion blender or spoon it into a regular blender. If you use a regular blender be very careful blending hot liquids and remember to vent the blender well. You can leave the soup as chunky as you like it or puree it to a smooth consistency.
- Once blended stir in the cheese adding it about a quarter of a cup at a time while stirring to avoid it clumping together.
- Garnish with extra cheese, bacon and scallions and serve.
Stove Top Instructions
- In a large pot, heat olive oil. Add in the carrots, celery, onion and garlic. Sauté for 2 minutes until slightly softened and fragrant.
- Stir in the potatoes, salt, pepper, broccoli and chicken broth.
- Bring to a boil and cook on high for 20-30 minutes, until broccoli + potatoes are fork tender.
- Once cooked, add milk and puree the soup using an immersion blender or spoon it into a regular blender. If you use a regular blender be very careful blending hot liquids and remember to vent the blender well. You can leave the soup as chunky as you like it or puree it to a smooth consistency.
- Once blended stir in the cheese adding it about a quarter of a cup at a time while stirring to avoid it clumping together.
- Garnish with extra cheese, bacon and scallions and serve.
We absolutely loved the healthy broccoli soup!! I’ve mare broccoli soup before but nothing compares to the clean eating couples recipe! It was soo good, so smooth, creamy and filling because of the potatoes! Our 22month old ate a whole bowl full! One of my favourite parts about the clean eating couples recipes are that you can jump to the recipe and that they offer recipes for IP, crock pot and stove top. Thank you!
Thanks, Laura! I’m so glad you liked it!
This is so good! I used campbell’s chicken with roasted garlic less sodium broth. It turned out amazing. Thank you for this recipe!
Thanks, Cindy!
Thank you so much, Cindy! I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
I love when healthy food can be comforting and tasty! I was able to use dairy cheese and milk and worked perfectly. This was great paired with a chicken panini on a chilly night!
So happy you liked it, Kristin! Thank you!
Last time I made this (witch was the 5th time) I also added 2 cups of spinach and 1 cup frozen peas. Added Cayenne and currie powder and it was fabulous. I have some fresh asparagus this time, do think that would work as well?
Hi Charlie – So glad you liked this! I haven’t tried it with asparagus but I think it would work!
Absolutely delicious. Great flavor while keeping it relatively healthy!
So glad you liked it!
I love this soup! This is my second time making it in 10 days! I am on a liquid diet due to oral surgery and this soup is quick and easy and I blend it well and it’s keeping me from starving 😂
So happy you like it, Liz!
Just what I was lookig for, an easy and healthy version of the classic brocolli soup. I also added a bit of bell peppers, a tomato, and coriander leaves for more taste. It was DELICIOUS, creamy, rich and healthy.
So happy you liked it, Gaby! Thank you!
This soup was so delicious. It tasted creamy without all the heavy cream. It felt healthy and not heavy. I used the crockpot recipe and it was easy as well. Perfect for lunch this week.
Thank you so much, Lisa!
By far my favorite broccoli soup! It’s so good & creamy! I’ve already made it twice!
Thank you so much!! So glad you liked it!
The BEST broccoli soup I’ve ever tasted. Creamy without being heavy. Will definitely make again!
Thank you so much, Rachel! So glad you liked it!
One of my favorite lunches used to be Panera’s broccoli soup with extra bread for dipping. This recipe did not disappoint. More flavor than Panera’s. Nice and creamy. I followed the recipe and used almond milk. This will definitely be added to our list of frequently made recipes. Great dinner for the winter time. Next time I will make a double batch so we have leftovers for lunches, it was so good no one left any this time.
So happy you liked it, Elissa! Comparing it to Panera is pretty high compliment!
Mine turned out great! I doubled the recipe because I had a lot of broccoli that needed to be used up:). I used fairlife fat free milk. I omitted the cheese and it was still wonderful. I just sprinkled a little in top and that was plenty to satisfy and still keep it lower cal. Also, my daughter won’t eat cheese or any sort, lol. So, this way people can personalize it to what they need. I fully puréed it and it was so nice and creamy for a cold night..:in SoCal…but it was cold to me, lol. Thanks for the recipe! I NEVER cook, but this was SO easy and still protein , vitamin, and fiber rich. I wish I could post a pic.
So so glad you liked it, Anna! Thank you so much! Next you have to try my Healthy Potato Soup! Just as delish!
DO NOT sleep on this recipe! It is sooo good! I have now made this a few times and have learned that the potatoes (just like the note above) do influence the thickness of the soup but regardless of that fact, this recipe is DELICIOUS! I love that you use potatoes here instead of cream and other high caloric ingredients to make this and honestly using potatoes as a thickener is now a game changer for all of my cream based soups.
I’m so happy you like it, Kelly!! Thank you!
This really does taste like Panera Bread!!!
So glad you like it Brynna! Thank you!
Very Good!! Loved it! Thank you!!
Love these recipes!!!! So good and very thorough!!
Thanks, Courtney! So happy you like them!
I just made this soup & my family loves it. It tastes so yummy.
Love hearing that, Sandra! Thank you!
Easy and everyone loved it!
Love hearing that, Shari!
This came out very well! I subbed almond milk and used cauliflower instead of potatoes. Very creamy tasting, lots of flavor. I had to add some more spices towards the end to kick it up a notch.
Thanks, Kate! Glad you enjoyed it!
Happy to read the comment about subbing the cauliflower for potatoes and the almond milk. Trying that today!
Let us know how you like it, Carol!
Great recipe! I only had frozen broccoli and frozen carrots (everything else fresh) and it still tasted amazing! This is definitely a keeper. Delish!
Thanks Courtney! So glad you liked it!
This seriously looks more delicious than Panera’s broccoli soup and that’s a hard one to beat! I love the simple ingredients and how incredibly creamy this looks!
Thank you!! It is soooo creamy, and almost has the exact consistency of Panera!
Wow!! I love me some broccoli cheddar soup. I didn’t know it was possible to make a healthier version while keeping the flavor. You MUST try this soup!! You won’t be disappointed.
Thank you SO much, Jennifer!
Hi Liz,
I can’t wait to make this. Looks good. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks so much, Amy!
So good! Will make it again!
Thank you so much, Karen!
Made this soup this week for supper. It’s delicious!
So glad you liked it, Erica!
Can’t wait to make this! Can I use frozen broccoli or will it add to much water? I have sooooo many frozen veggies I need to use up 🤗
Hi Venice – I haven’t tried this with frozen broccoli, but I think it would work! If you try it – let me know!
Thank you!!
This recipe is delicious! I cut out a few more calories by subbing the milk for skim, swapping out chicken broth for veggie broth, and upping the carrots. It’s a big hit in my house!
I used frozen broccoli but I did cook it first. Not completely but enough to thaw it. I also did not peel the potatoes. You never noticed, and the taste was just as good.
The soup was delicious!!